WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. House Monday passed a bill that would make it easier for the government to prosecute people suspected of child abuse.

H.R. 3627, the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act, was approved in a voice vote, the Washington publication the Hill reported.

"H.R. 3627 helps to strengthen the federal response to child abuse and other forms of domestic violence in the Indian country and the special maritime and territorial jurisdictions by ... allow[ing] prior convictions for the abuse of a child to trigger the offense of domestic assault by habitual offender," Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., said. "This is a small but important change to the statute that will permit the federal government to prosecute more violent offenders."

The bill, named after a young North Carolina girl who was severely beaten by her stepfather, requires the U.S. attorney general to report to Congress on the range of penalties for child abuse in an attempt to encourage states with lenient penalties to strengthen them.